Multivariate analysis, systematics, and distribution of Galium sect. Orientigalium Ehrend. (Rubiaceae) in the Caucasus region IVAN SCHANZER & FRIEDRICH EHRENDORFER ABSTRACT SCHANZER, I. & F. EHRENDORFER (2002). Multivariate analysis, systematics, and distribu - tion of Galium sect. Orientigalium Ehrend. (Rubiaceae) in the Caucasus region. Candollea 57: 329-357. In English, English abstract. Galium sect. Orientigalium Ehrend. is a species rich and polymorphic clade centred in the western Irano-Oriental region, from where it extends to the Iberian Peninsula in the W, the Leba - non in the S, and the Caucasus region in the N. Preliminary chromosome counts and correlated pollen diameter measurements show that the clade includes several polyploid complexes. One of them, particularly diverse in the Caucasus, is the G. subvelutinum alliance. On the basis of an extensive evaluation of morphological differential characters, eighteen populations of this alliance were studied in the field, together with additional herbarium material resulting in a total of four hundred and three individuals scored for twenty differential characters and eventually arranged in twenty-six OTUs. This matrix was subjected to cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, and dis - criminant analyses. The resulting tree reveals five major OTU clusters. Their structure, affinities, discontinuities and clinal connections are illustrated by 2-dimensional scatter plots and maps. As a consequence, it is possible to separate two informal species groups within the Caucasian mem - bers of the G. subvelutinum alliance: the ± suffruticose and more xerophilous G. mite group and the ± herbaceous and rather mesophilous G. hyrcanicum group. Both apparently contain diploid and polyploid members and are occasionally linked by hybridization. Within the G. mite group four species can be recognized, of which G. armenum apparently is of hybrid origin. The G. hyr - canicum group includes G. bullatum , G. hyrcanicum agg. (three species) and G. xylorrhizum agg. (three species). These aggregates have developed a number of interesting local endemic taxa in the Great Caucasus, which obviously have originated from Irano-Oriental ancestors which first pene - trated northward, and then became isolated during the later Pleistocene and Holocene. KEY-WORDS: Galium sect. Orientigalium – Caucasus – Taxonomy – Cluster analysis – Discri - minant analysis – Distribution. 1. Introduction The section Orientigalium Ehrend. of the genus Galium L. comprises about sixty species which partly form polymorphic polyploid complexes and are distributed in mountains of SW Asia and the Mediterranean. Most of the species are known from Turkey and adjacent N and W Iran, N Iraq, and the Caucasus region. No complete treatment of the section is yet available. After the first description of sect. Orientigalium (EHRENDORFER , 1951), a general survey ( EHREN - DORFER , 1971) and several treatments within regional analyses of Rubiaceae have been publi - shed: for “Flora Europaea” ( EHRENDORFER , 1976), for the Floras of Turkey ( EHRENDOR - FER , 1958; EHRENDORFER & SCHÖNBECK-TEMESY , 1982) and Iraq ( EHRENDORFER CODEN: CNDLAR CONSERVATOIRE ET JARDIN 57(2) 329 (2002) © ISSN: 0373-2967 BOTANIQUES DE GENÈVE 2002 330 CANDOLLEA 57, 2002 & SCHÖNBECK-TEMESY , 1980), and for “Flora Iranica” ( EHRENDORFER & al., 2002 in print). Furthermore, there is a note on some taxa of the section in the Caucasus (SCHANZER, 1989). Earlier treatments of the relevant taxa have been presented by GROSSHEIM for the Flora of the Caucasus (1934), by POBEDIMOVA for the Floras of the USSR (1958) and Azerbaijan (1961), and by MANDENOVA for the Floras of Armenia (1972, 1980) and Georgia (1999). In the recent “Synopsis of the Caucasian Flora” for the Rubiaceae , prepared at the Komarov Bota - nical Institute in St. Petersburg, MIKHEYEV (1992) recognized the following species of sect. Orientigalium : G. grusinum Trautv. [= G. incanum subsp. elatius (Boiss.) Ehrend.], and from the G. subvelutinum alliance G. praemontanum Mardal. (incl. var. armazicum Mardal.), G. oshteni - cum Ehrend. & Schanzer ex Mikheev, G. vartanii Grossh., and G. hyrcanicum agg. with the microspecies G. hyrcanicum C. A. Mey. (= G. grossheimii Pobed.), G. xylorrhizum Boiss. & Huet, G. czerepanovii Pobed., G. achurense Grossh., G. mite Boiss. & Hohen., and G. bullatum Lipsky. Not yet included are G. azerbayjanicum Ehrend. & Schönb.-Tem. (published in 1991) and G. armenum Schanzer (published in 1997). The present study deals in a comprehensive way with sect. Orientigalium in the Caucasus region. This is understood here as to include the ranges of all the Caucasian mountains within the former Soviet Union (now Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and some parts of southern Russia). In this region the section reaches the northern limits of its distribution area with the alliances of G. incanum Sm. and of G. subvelutinum (DC.) K. Koch. The former of these informal taxono - mic assemblies is distributed from Greece and Crete through Anatolia to Georgia, Syria, and Lebanon; it is represented by a single uniform subspecies only in the Caucasus region ( EHREN - DORFER , 1951). In contrast, the G. subvelutinum alliance forms extremely polymorphic poly - ploid complexes and contains many critical species linked by transitional forms, ranging from W Turkey to N Iraq, N + W Iran, and the Caucasus region. First, EHRENDORFER (1948, 1958) suggested to consider the G. subvelutinum alliance as a polytypic species with a number of sub - species and related species marginal to the main centre of diversity. Such a concept, however, later on did not seem satisfactory and was rejected in favour of the recognition of numerous, more or less vicarious microspecies ( EHRENDORFER & SCHÖNBECK-TEMESY , 1980, 1982; SCHÖNBECK-TEMESY 1991; EHRENDORFER & al ., 2002 ). However, this new concept also did not solve all problems due to the very weak differences and numerous intermediates between several of the microspecies described. Here, we attempt to clarify these problems of the taxonomic differentiation of sect. Orien - tigalium and of the relationships between its taxa in the Caucasus region by applying numerical taxonomic methods. This approach should also allow to recognize the general distribution pat - tern of the section in the region. Nevertheless, our results will remain preliminary, because the documentation of the different genome levels in the polyploid complexes involved is still quite insufficient. 2. Materials and methods This survey is based partly on the plant material assembled by the first author during field work in Armenia, Georgia and Nakhichevan (1979-1982 and 1995). The collections of the her - baria ERE, LE, MHA, MO, MOSP, MW, TBI, TGM, W, and WU, and some from G, K, E, and B borrowed to WU have been considered as well. Thus, a total of about one thousand specimens have been examined, of which four hundred and three were used for the numerical study. The lat - ter involved only members of the G. subvelutinum alliance. To assess infrapopulational variability, seven to thirty-six specimens were collected in the field from each of the eighteen local populations examined. Eight collections from single localities or restricted geographical areas found in various herbaria were also considered along with the field samples to set up twenty-six Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) (Table 1; Figs. 1, 4, 5). I. SCHANZER & F. EHRENDORFER – GALIUM SECT. ORIENTIGALIUM IN THE CAUCASUS REGION 331 Table 1. – List of OTUs recognized for the Galium subvelutinum alliance in the Caucasus region. Samples from populations studied in the field are marked with asterisks. OTU No OTU name Species and locality Number of specimens 1 mite G. mite (C Armenia, Aragatz, Karbi) * 12 2 achur1 G. achurense (Nakhichevan, Buzgow) * 26 3 azerb G. azerbayjanicum (Nakhichevan, Negrom) 7 4 armen G. armenum (SC Armenia, Garni) * 22 5 xylo1 G. xylorrhizum (N Armenia, Lusakhpur) * 30 6 xylo2 G. xylorrhizum (N Armenia, Shirakamut) * 23 7 xylo3 G. xylorrhizum (N Armenia, Nalband) * 7 8 hyrc5 G. hyrcanicum (Armenia, Sevan) * 36 9 hyrc3 G. hyrcanicum (C Armenia, Karaglukh) * 21 10 hyrc2 G. hyrcanicum (C Armenia, Gndevaz) * 13 11 hyrc4 G. hyrcanicum (CS Armenia, Khachik) * 26 12 hyrc1 G. hyrcanicum (Nakhichevan, Akhura) * 25 13 gross G. grossheimii (NW Nakhichevan, Yayji) 9 14 bull2 G. bullatum (N Nakhichevan, Bichenak) * 12 15 bull1 G. bullatum (Nakhichevan, Shakhbuz) * 33 16 bull3 G. bullatum (W Nakhichevan, Badamly) 6 17 bull4 G. hyrcanicum (Nakhichevan, Bichenak Pass) * 7 18 achur2 G. hyrcanicum (SC Armenia, Arpi) * 7 19 hyrc6 G. hyrcanicum (E Nakhichevan, Zangezur Range) * 10 20 hyrc7 G. hyrcanicum (E Nakhichevan, Kalaki) * 8 21 czer G. czerepanovii (SE Nakhichevan, the type collection) 11 22 osht G. oshtenicum (NW Caucasus, Oshten Mt.) 9 23 praem G. praemontanum (E Georgia, the type collection) 4 24 armaz G. praemontanum var. armazicum (Georgia) = G. xylorrhizum 3 25 vart G. vartanii (NE Azerbayjan & Daghestan) 9 26 hyrcan G. hyrcanicum (Talysh Mts.) 27 Total 403 332 CANDOLLEA 57, 2002 Table 2. – Characters measured on Caucasian specimens of sect. Orientigalium . 1. Habit 1. dwarf caespitose habit 2. herbaceous, with thin, slightly woody stem bases 3. more or less suffrutescent 2. Brachyblasts at lower nodes 1. present 2. absent 3. Stem length mm long 4. Stem indumentum 1. glabrous 2. shortly puberulent in nodes 3. shortly and sparsely puberulent at lower portion only 4. shortly and sparsely puberulent 5. shortly and densely puberulent 6. hirsute 5.